Come Wake Me Up
by ForsakenOathKeeper
Summary: All it took was Hiccup to almost die for her to realize that she was desperately in love with him. Astrid x Hiccup. One-shot.


**_Come Wake Me Up_**  
_All it took was Hiccup to almost die for her to realize that she was desperately in love with him._  
This chapter was last updated on **10/9/13**

Originally from my one-shot series _Let's Be Crazy_

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Astrid stood with her feet planted in the black sand. She hadn't realized it, but she was trembling uncontrollably. She bit back her fear with all the might she could muster. This was it. This was going to end the war between the Vikings and the dragons. For once, there could be peace. They could leave their homes without fear of a dragon attack. They could live out the rest of their lives _with_ the dragons.

The red death was taking to the skies now; its wing span alone was breathtaking. Its roar shook the ground, nearly knocking the blonde Viking off her feet. Her eyes were locked on the sky, fearing for Hiccup and Toothless' safety. They had disappeared into the sky, far from where her eyes could see them, meshing with the clouds. They disappeared along with the red death.

All of a sudden, the sky light up in flames. The massive dragon came hurdling down back to the island. She gasped as its body slammed into the ground, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew debris everywhere. She turned her back to the debris and knelt down, arms over her head protectively. When she felt the world grow still again, Astrid quickly stood back up, eyes searching for the little black dragon.

"Hiccup," she let out a strangled cry, surprising herself for the outburst. A small figure came crashing to the ground. She took off running in that direction, feet kicking up dirt and debris behind her.

Stoick was knelt down on the ground, near a small, black figure. She saw the chief drop to his knees and that stopped her dead in her tracks. Toothless slowly opened his bright green eyes, glancing around with a tired look on his face. The rest of the tribe followed behind them, but stopped behind Astrid and stared at the scene before them.

Astrid's eyes searched for Hiccup; she searched for messy, russet hair, green eyes, a freckled face, or thin form – long, lanky arms and bony legs. She couldn't find him. All of a sudden, everything seemed to end, right before her very eyes. Her eyes stung and swelled, threatening to burst. Her hands came up and covered her eyes.

"Hiccup," she whispered to herself, trying to fight back the tears. She bit her lip and choked back a sob. She promised herself she wouldn't cry in front of anyone, _ever_. No matter what happened, she was a warrior and had to remain calm.

A gasp from the crowd brought Astrid back to reality. She removed her hands from her face and looked at Stoick. He was cradling something in his arms. As he brought it up closer to his head, she noticed it shift. She could see Hiccup's head dangling out of Stoick's massive arms.

"He's alive!" Stoick shouted.

Astrid's hands gripped at her chest, trying to calm her unsteadily beating heart. She smiled, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. He was alive… he was alright. The crowd cheered behind her, which only made her more excited. She began to thank each and every God she could think of as she ran over to Hiccup, desperately wanting to see him.

As she walked around Stoick, she noticed that Hiccup was unconscious; but, quickly, her eyes trailed from Hiccup to the dirt around him. Blood was pooling beneath him, near his feet. The smell of rotten, burnt flesh stung her nostrils. Hiccup's left foot was gone. What remained was bone and little flesh, burnt black and to a crisp. The wound was oozing warm blood. She had seen wounds before, but never like this.

"Stand back," Stoick instructed Astrid, but she was frozen.

"We have to get him cleaned up before the wound gets infected. He needs to be seen by the healers," Gobber explained, somehow managing to stay calm. Stoick seemed to be doing pretty well at staying level headed, as well.

Stoick placed Hiccup gently on the ground. Gobber bent down next to him and prepared his axe-hand next to the burnt limb. That was when Astrid realized what he was going to do. She quickly looked away, missing the horrid sight; but, she could hear the sound of metal slicing through Hiccup's flesh and bone. It made her blood curdle, but she resisted the urge to cry out at it.

She was happy, at least, that Hiccup was far too unconscious to notice. She wondered if he suffered a concussion or if it was just trauma. Toothless seemed startled by their actions, but did not attempt to stop them. He seemed to understand the severity of Hiccup's injuries as much as a dragon could understand.

"We need to hurry him back to the village," Stoick said. He hurriedly wrapped the end of Hiccup's leg in some cloth, tightly and securely, before standing back up and cradling the boy in his arms.

"I'll do it!" Astrid sputtered to the chief. He slowly turned around to face her. She recognized his gaze as doubt. He seemed prepared to shoot her down, quickly; but, Astrid responded before he could. "My dragon is the fastest. I can get him back on Berk in less than ten minutes," she quickly explained.

In reality, she knew Toothless was the fastest; but, he couldn't fly at the moment. Her Deadly Nadder was the best hope they had. She knew she could get him back as soon as possible. Stoick stared at her for a moment, questioning whether or not to trust her with his son. Hiccup began to stir in Stoick's arms, groaning in pain. That seemed to rush the chief's decision.

"Alright," was his hoarse reply.

Astrid whistled loudly into the sky, beckoning her Deadly Nadder to come to her. The beast came flying over from the back of the crowd and landed beside her. Astrid quickly climbed onto the dragon's back and prepared for Stoick to hand Hiccup to her. He began to hand Astrid his son; but, then, he suddenly paused. When Astrid's eyes locked with Stoick's, she froze up in fear at the man's stern look.

"Take care of my son," he said, roughly. It wasn't asking, it wasn't requesting, it was him demanding to her to save his _son_. It sent frightening chills down her spine; but, at the same time, it made her feel more confident than ever before. She never felt this exhilarated before. No battle or competition ever made her feel like this. It wasn't just a _challenge_ or a _bet_; this meant the world to her. She was going to save Hiccup.

"With my life," she replied in a loud, proud tone.

He nodded to her, happiness bubbling behind what appeared like emotionless eyes. Stoick slowly handed Hiccup to Astrid, who took him gently onto her lap. She leaned his head against the space between her chest and shoulder while her arm wrapped around his back and gently gripped his bony shoulder, holding him securely against her. She placed her free hand on the Deadly Nadder for balance. As Stoick stepped away, Astrid instructed her Nadder to fly and they took off into the air.

She kissed Hiccup's forehead, promising him they would make it back in time. She grew insanely nervous when she felt the warmth of his blood pooling on her thigh. His wound was still widely open; she was choking back tears at the thought of it, desperate to remain as calm as possible.

"Hold on," she begged him as they whipped through the air.

"Hold on," Hiccup repeated into her chest, startling her. She couldn't tell if he was awake or in some sort of half-conscious state and wasn't registering thoughts properly. She could hear him whimpering into her chest. His sounds were muffled, but incredibly audible to her.

Through the blistering winds over the ocean, all she could hear was his breathing, reminding her he was still alive.

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Astrid stood outside the healers' cabin while they worked on Hiccup throughout the night. She was pacing back and forth, her Deady Nadder watching her intently. Astrid's clothing was stained with Hiccup's blood, though she pretended not to notice. They had managed to arrive in record time. She showed up at the healer's doorstep, banging on the front door and screaming with a half-dead boy in her arms: _Stoick's son_.

An hour had to of passed at this point, and they were still working! She was practically going insane out here. It was freezing, her braid was tangled painfully and pulling on her scalp, the nail on her index finger was bent back, and she had a cut down the side of her face; despite all that, she hardly noticed it at all. She didn't care. She was too busy worrying about the freckled boy – the screw up – the chief's son – she was worried about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

She never thought she'd find herself thinking those thoughts. She never thought she would be hyperventilating at the possibility she would never see him again. She had never been this scared before in her life.

Finally, one of the healers stepped outside. Astrid snapped her attention away from the ground and to the healer, her neck audibly popped at the movement. The healer had a small smile on his face, which calmed Astrid's uneven heartbeat. "We got him stable, now. He's going to be alright," the healer told her, softly.

Astrid sighed, loudly, and very much unlike herself. She wanted to see him, more than anything in the world. She would give up every second of sleep that she sincerely and quite obviously needed. Sensing this, the healer answered her thoughts, "he's not awake; but you can see him."

Astrid nearly knocked the healer down as she ran past him and into the cottage. The room was incredibly tense, Astrid noticed that immediately. The air was heavy and stunk of that sickly metallic stench she recognized as blood. Their instruments were sitting on dirtied rags on an old table. She stepped past them, searching for the Haddock boy.

When she caught sight of his russet hair, she swiftly walked over to him. The tears that she had struggled to hold back finally broke free from her eyes. She didn't sob, able to choke back all sounds for the time being, while the tears poured out of her eyes like waterfalls.

Astrid sat down in the stool beside Hiccup, eyeing him curiously. He looked peaceful, actually peaceful on that very uncomfortable bed. His chest was slightly rising and falling as he breathed. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his cheek. Tears fell across her cheeks and onto his face as she sloppily kissed him, desperately preying she didn't let out a cry.

He was alive; everything was going to be alright.

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Since that night, Hiccup was being kept in his own bedroom, snuggled up in a pile of furs in his own bed. He looked the most natural there and was the easiest to care for when in his room. Toothless was able to be with him, too. It made everything seem perfectly natural.

As the days went by, Astrid realized she was visiting Hiccup every single day, even, on occasion, more than once. She couldn't sleep at night. She was always sitting by his bedside and staring at his emotionless face until she passed out, hunched over in her stool and laying partially on the bed.

On one instance, she crawled into bed with him and snuggled against his sleeping form. She didn't want to move him from the middle of the bed, so she occupied the little space that was on the side. Of course, she woke up on the floor that morning, Toothless licking at her face.

The healers constantly reminded her that his wounds were getting better. It always flushed relief over her knowing he was steadily getting better. What was frightening to her was that he hardly stayed awake. On a few occasions, he had awoken and was, basically, sleep walking. He would mutter nonsense, too; on a few occasions, he confused Astrid with his mother and called her _mom_. In the end, he always stumbled back to this strange comatose state.

She couldn't be mad at being mistaken for his mother. It was almost cute and left her in a fit of laughter; she knew, too, that she could pester him about it later. He would probably be extremely embarrassed by it, if she knew him well enough. Of course, she would never tell a soul; that was between her, Gobber, and Stoick.

After a while, the healers stopped visiting and left Stoick with the responsibility of changing his wounds and ensuring that it didn't get infected. Astrid was almost always there when it came time to do so. If he wasn't able to, she could always do it. He seemed thankful for it, even if he didn't always directly say so. Gobber visited on a few occasions, as well, measuring Hiccup's leg. He was going to surprise him with a special prosthetic.

In a short amount of time, Astrid realized she was steadily going insane. She would talk to Hiccup as he lied in bed, mostly explaining what he was missing. Sometimes, she would even spurt nonsense, anything so that she didn't have to sit in silence to listen to him _breathing_. His breathing, as beautiful as it was, only reminded her that he was far away. It was the way a person breathed whilst they slept.

"I think I love you," she spurted one day; then, she quickly slapped herself for it, catching Toothless' attention. The dragon waddled over to her, staring at her intently, as if something was wrong. Astrid sighed, scratching the beasts chin.

Hiccup wasn't awake, obviously, and wouldn't hear it – he didn't hear anything that she said. Yet, her heart was beating rapidly, as if he did hear it. She felt a stinging nervousness, as if waiting for some sort of reply. Although, he never said a word; the boy was stilling snoozing, as always.

Astrid stared down at him, sadly. She reached for his hand, fingers nervously touching his skin. He was always really scrawny; but, at this point, he was starting to appear sickly. He had become extremely skinny and bony. The sight was frightening.

"Wake up… now," she pleaded. "I… I'm pretty sure…. Yeah, I love you."

The next morning, as she finished breakfast and proceeded to Hiccup's house, Astrid's thoughts wandered feverishly. She couldn't wait any longer. It had to be said. _Now._ No more of this waiting and preying. She was going to _make_ him wake up. She would grab him by his shoulders and shake him until he finally came back to her – that was a good plan, right? Maybe not, but, at that point, it was all that she had – she was desperate.

As she trailed the path up to Hiccup's house, she noticed the crowd gathering around his front door. A thought crossed her mind, "he's awake?" She pushed her way through the crowd of massive Vikings. Sure enough, standing there by the front door was that freckled faced boy, standing on one fleshy foot and one metal foot.

She was overwhelmed in that moment, threatening to burst into wild emotions. She wasn't sure why, but she ended up punching Hiccup in the shoulder. As he whined and scolded her, she commented to him, "that's for scaring me."

"What!? Are you always going to be this way-?" he shrieked, beginning to question her. She didn't really contemplate her actions beforehand; Astrid just reached for his tunic, grabbed him, and yanked him in. As she kissed him, Astrid felt a shiver run down her spine and her heart beat rapidly. She didn't really give Hiccup a chance to react; but, as she pulled back and opened her eyes, she caught sight of the boy's eyelids fluttering open.

He smiled, sheepishly. "I could get used to it…"

Astrid smiled back at him. She knew that she could get used to this, too. She could get used to this new life that was creeping its way over: these feelings that were slowly engulfing her entire mindset. There was a few teasing _ahs_ and _oohs_ from the crowd, but the two teens hardly seemed to notice.

As someone handed Hiccup his saddle and Toothless came barreling through the crowd, knocking some people over, Astrid remembered what she was going to tell him. It was now or never, right? However, her thoughts were drowned out in Hiccup's laughter as he happily clutched his saddle to his chest.

"I can just tell him later," she mentally told herself, smiling at the scrawny boy.

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"Hey, sleepy head," a voice beckoned him to wake. Hiccup yawned woozily and began to stretch. As he began to move his tired limps, he noticed the weight above him. He peeled his tired eyes open and saw blonde locks draped over his face.

"You're going to be late, _again_," Astrid whispered, scolding him.

"That's right," he mentally reminded himself, "Astrid offered to help me."

It was vital that he partook in physical therapy. It was really basic stuff; it was like learning how to walk all over again. However, he knew it was important so he could get well adjusted to having only one foot. Since Gobber had been too busy most of the time, Astrid offered to help him, herself.

Her hand came down and cradled his cheek. Hiccup blushed a bright red shade and stared nervously at the blonde. She was _on top_ of him. It was for the intent of waking him, but still…

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked, her hand sliding up his cheek, brushing russet locks out of his face and checking his forehead. That only seemed to make his face hotter; the bridge of his nose got just as red as his cheeks.

Hiccup's hand gently grasped hers. His legs lifted unconsciously and gently knocked against Astrid's buttocks and thighs. He realized she was basically laying on him, her legs on either side of his body, and leaning over him. He gulped nervously, pulling her hand away from his forehead. "I'm fine… you're just… um," he replied, unsteadily. He tried not to smile; she looked _beautiful_ on top of him.

Astrid hopped off of him with a light chuckle. She walked across the room and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the boy. Hiccup just remained in bed, propped up on his elbows, and stared back at her. Toothless was laying on his rock bed, staring at the Viking teens and humming to himself. There was a moment of silence drifting between them as they stared at each other.

Suddenly, Hiccup frowned. "I need to get dressed, Astrid…"

She grinned. "Go on." Realizing that he didn't find her humorous, Astrid sighed. "I'm just joking, dragon boy," she said, before exiting his room and closing the door behind her.

Hiccup sighed, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He reached to the floor for his prosthetic, muttering to Toothless, who was walking up to him, "that was a close one…"

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It had been almost two months since Hiccup awoke from his comatose state. Everything continued as normal, for the most part. Hiccup still tripped over his own foot and _metal_, he still snuck away for evening flights with Toothless, and continued working at the forge when Gobber needed his help. He also began a Dragon Academy, eager to learn all there was to know about dragons and just as eager to share that knowledge with everyone.

"Wow, it's still here," Astrid mumbled to herself. She had wandered down to the beach and was standing on the peachy shores, the waves extremely gentle today. There was an old, wooden raft leaning against the rocks. She recognized it from her childhood – from _their_ childhood.

Once upon a time when she and Hiccup were too young to know any better: too young to fight dragons. Back when she was too young to hate him for his short comings. She remembered how they built the raft so they could play pirates and how upset they were when the raft didn't float. Their parents were far too busy to help them with such a pointless task. At the time, it meant so much to them – it was really silly.

"I was sure wrong about you," she thought as she fell back and landed in the warm sand. "I was always pushing you away – too busy worrying about myself to see what you _really_ were." She trembled at the thought. "Now… look at me, helplessly infatuated with you. _Geez_…" Astrid rolled onto her side and got comfortable in the sand. "Maybe… I always felt something and was just to-… _stupid_ to see it."

She rolled onto her side, enjoying the warmth of sand. It wasn't often that the frozen Berk was warm. It might not have been _tropical paradise_ warm, but it was definitely new for the Vikings that lived on Berk. Astrid closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the sounds of the waves. She heard Stormfly make a welcoming squawk. She opened her eyes and saw a boot and piece of metal approaching her.

She recognized it immediately and leaned up, smiling at the freckled boy. She saw a familiar black dragon walking up behind the Viking, a curious look over his face.

"Everything alright?" Hiccup asked her.

"Just enjoying the warm weather," she told him with a small smile.

The freckled boy plopped down in the sand beside her. Astrid recognized the odd grunt he made as he got comfortable in the sand. His leg had healed extremely well in the past few months; but, she knew that it was still troublesome for him, especially if he spent too much time walking on it. Lately, he had been extremely focused on experimenting with battling. She had a feeling that he was overdoing it.

Astrid eyed him suspiciously. "How about you?"

"Fine," he replied sharply. "It's been really quiet today. Oh! –and I finished blueprints for this shield I've been working on. I'm going to start it real soon: maybe after Bork week."

Astrid smiled briefly at his excitement; but, her curiosity over his well-being got the better of her. "So, you haven't been overdoing it, then? On your foot… It's only been a few months, after all."

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Everything has been going great." Hiccup leaned back in the sand, placing his arms behind his head. He locked his eyes on the sky, admiring the clouds.

"Then, you wouldn't mind me checking your leg?" Astrid asked with a smirk.

"Um," Hiccup stuttered. "…It's really not necessary," he began, searching his mind for excuses. "Plus, the bandages are hard to tie back up again. I don't want it falling off. I really have it under control, Astrid!"

The blonde leaned over him, just slightly, staring at his face. She was searching for some sort of sign – for him to crack and _confess_ without a single word. He was insisting that he was alright. For her, that good enough cause to _search him_.

"Not that I think you're a liar, but…" she trailed off.

She knew the way he tied his foot on; she knew exactly how he did it only because she helped him when it all began. Before he could blink, Astrid had undone the bindings that connected his stub to his prosthetic. She held it triumphantly in front of his face. He stared, blindly, at the metal contraption for a moment, amazed at how quickly she had _undressed_ him.

She let the piece fall onto his chest, receiving a light _oomph_ from the boy. He quickly moved it from his chest, placing it in the sand. Astrid undid the ties he made on his pants leg and lifted it up, just enough to expose his leg.

"I really can take care of myself, Astrid," he retorted, completely unmenacingly. She almost chuckled at his tone, but chose to resist. Hiccup leaned up until he was in a seated position and observed her carefully. She was surprised that he didn't try to stop her; although, she figured that could have easily been out of fear.

"I did promise that I would take it upon myself to ensure everything was alright," she reminded him as she ran her fingers along the amputation. Hiccup unconsciously trembled beneath her touch. His wound had healed rather nicely. She could feel how thick his scars had become and noticed the way his weight had shifted. Despite that, she knew he wasn't taking it easy.

"You haven't been taking it easy, have you?" she scolded him. Hiccup bit his lip, resisting the urge to retort against her statement. Unfortunately, she was right. His stub was clearly red and swollen. She was certain that it was painful, too. He was sore, incredibly sore. Gobber had warned that it would be a while before he got used to walking with a piece of metal for a foot.

"My life can't just stop," Hiccup suddenly commented, surprising Astrid.

She paused for a moment, twisting her waist around so she could look him in the eyes. He was frowning, sadly; but, at the same time, he had a sort of fire in his eyes. She could tell, just as clear as everyone else could, that he was confident to be the best Viking he could be. He was his own kind of Viking. He was the best dragon rider in the town – the smartest – the bravest, perhaps. Astrid realized, as well, that he was the strongest because she couldn't survive losing a foot. She would have killed that night fury. She was weaker than him – she knew that was why she hated him for so long: just as long as she didn't have to admit to herself that she loved him.

Astrid gently set Hiccup's leg back on the sand, letting his pant leg slide back down to its original spot. She placed a hand on his chest, accidentally placing all her weight on him. Hiccup fell back, flat on his back, and Astrid came down with him. They bumped noses and she took that opportunity to brush her lips sloppily against his. It was too brief for him to be able to kiss back, only because Astrid tore away and whispered, "I think I love you," really quickly to him.

She then lifted back up into a seated position and turned away from him. Hiccup lied flat on his back for the moment, staring blindly into the sky and contemplating what he had just heard. He wondered if he misheard her. Hiccup tilted his head to look at Astrid, staring at the back of her head, covered in sand. Despite herself, Astrid was smirking; she finally said it and she wasn't going to cry. She was going to live on and everything would be alright.

"Astrid…" Hiccup choked out.

Astrid slowly turned around to gaze at him. He examined her features, noticing how frightened she appeared. It was difficult to describe that face because Astrid never showed fear. _Ever._ He could only see it in the way her eyes were glistening, staring into his with an unblinking gaze. He smiled at her and was happy at how noticeably she calmed.

"I could get used to it," Hiccup replied, blushing and smiling. Hiccup leaned into her this time and kissed her.

She knew that everything wold be alright; it was okay if she loved Hiccup... Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Screw everything else that once made sense in her world; now, this is what made sense. _This was real..._


End file.
